(WWJ) A man from out-of-state is has been charged with child endangerment after leaving a toddler alone in a hot car in Troy.
Fortunately, the little girl was rescued and is doing just fine following the incident on Sunday, Aug. 22, in the Oakland Mall parking lot.
Troy Police responded to the scene — outside pf JC Penny, at John R and 14 Mile Rd. — just after 1:30 p.m. on a report of a child sitting in a car unattended.
Officers arrived to find a 2-year-old girl in silver 2019 Kio Rio, crying, with no parent or guardian around.
The car's windows were rolled down about two inches, police said, and the outside temperature was 91 degrees.
The officers were able to open a door to get to the child, and as they were doing so, a young man walked up and identified himself as the boyfriend of the child's mother. He told police that he was caring for the girl, that she fell asleep in the car, and that he'd only been inside the store for a few minutes.
Police said the man became "agitated" while speaking with officers and initially gave them a false name. Eventually, however, he was identified as a 21-year-old resident of Suffolk, Virginia.
Meanwhile, the little girl was removed from the vehicle, given water, and checked out by EMS.
The child was determined to have no ill effects from being left in the hot car. She was released into the care of her mother, who told police she did not give the boyfriend permission to leave her daughter alone in the car.
The man was arrested at the scene.
